easy on knees lower body strength training?
evedroid
Posts: 134 Member
...mainly targeting glutes, hams and quads?
im lifting at home and have access to a squat rack, barbell, dumbbells, bench, swiss ball. (stating these, so no one suggests to run to the closest leg press machine or exercises that involve ankle weights for example)
lifting what considers to be heavy, however, lately one of my knees is failing me terribly on squats, lunges, step-ups.
im using a knee sleeve and went through a deload thinking i had form issues, filmed myself, done all that. its only one of my knees, so doubt it has much to do with bad form. taking glucosamine, trying to up my fat intake, but the inflammation isnt that significant comparing to the other, supposedly non-dominant knee.
no previous injuries either.
it started up with the popping noise (fluid issue in the joint?) but lately hurts too.
deadlifts and variations (romanian, single leg romanian) do the trick, however, i would like to introduce some more variety.
im not ready to only do body-weight squats/lunges/step-ups, and to be fair, they hurt a little too.
any recommended substitutions?
also: i have a pair of knee straps too, any thoughts on using them as a support instead of giving up on the above mentioned exercises until im recovered? i heard theyre to add a significant amount to the squatted weight, which im unsure about, in case id do more damage...
muchly appreciated, thank you kindly
im lifting at home and have access to a squat rack, barbell, dumbbells, bench, swiss ball. (stating these, so no one suggests to run to the closest leg press machine or exercises that involve ankle weights for example)
lifting what considers to be heavy, however, lately one of my knees is failing me terribly on squats, lunges, step-ups.
im using a knee sleeve and went through a deload thinking i had form issues, filmed myself, done all that. its only one of my knees, so doubt it has much to do with bad form. taking glucosamine, trying to up my fat intake, but the inflammation isnt that significant comparing to the other, supposedly non-dominant knee.
no previous injuries either.
it started up with the popping noise (fluid issue in the joint?) but lately hurts too.
deadlifts and variations (romanian, single leg romanian) do the trick, however, i would like to introduce some more variety.
im not ready to only do body-weight squats/lunges/step-ups, and to be fair, they hurt a little too.
any recommended substitutions?
also: i have a pair of knee straps too, any thoughts on using them as a support instead of giving up on the above mentioned exercises until im recovered? i heard theyre to add a significant amount to the squatted weight, which im unsure about, in case id do more damage...
muchly appreciated, thank you kindly
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Replies
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meh?0
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I wish I had some good answers to this, my bf has bad knees and would be interested to hear some of the stuff that people can come up with so he can no longer avoid lower body training.0
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Can you post a video of your squat here?0
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only have one filmed from behind and not from the side. would that be any use?0
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only have one filmed from behind and not from the side. would that be any use?
It could be.0 -
Good mornings, stiff legged deadlifts, single leg romanian deadlift, glute bridges.
My toes have to be turned out in squats for my knees not to hurt. The first month I started lifting I didn't do this and they bothered me. Four months later of turning toes out and regular lifting and they're fine. YMMV, of course.0 -
Now I'm far from a form expert on squats, but I'll give you my 2c, and SS can take it from there.
The first thing I see is you putting unnecessary pressure on your right knee when setting up. Get tight under the bar with feet parallel when lifting off the rack. Split stance is ok when you are dealing with light weights but not when it starts to get challenging.
The main thing though, is the tendency for your knees to cave inward during the movement. I am unaware how many causes there are for this, but the main one I know of (because I suffer it myself) is the relatively weak medius and minimus gluteal muscles (the non-visible muscles behind the gluteus maximus).
I had a lot of deferred pain in my knee, particularly from running, because of a weakness there. Now with a few months of focusing on rebuilding their strength my stability in the squat is greatly improved. What has worked best for me was a lot of single leg exercises (weighted lunges, split squats, single leg glute bridges).
Banded walks (walking sideways with an exercise band around your ankles) and hip external rotation (sitting with the band around your knees and opening up your legs) also helped on non-lifting days. That last exercise is probably also better done at home than in the gym :laugh:
As a test to see if this is a likely issue, try watching (or filming) yourself doing a single legged squat or lunge and track the path of your knee.
That might not be the issue, but it is a pretty common muscular imbalance.0 -
^^ He pretty much pointed out the issues.
See here for a good article on solutions to this, and definitely unrack with both feet under the bar:
http://bretcontreras.com/knee-valgus-valgus-collapse-glute-medius-strengthening-band-hip-abduction-exercises-and-ankle-dorsiflexion-drills/0 -
Gee SS, it feels like all you do lately is stalk me and agree with my posts...
I must be gettin' smart
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thank you so much guys, greatly appreciate the input!
this was my 1RM so im squatting lighter, and found my depth is nowhere near deep (maybe not even parallel) when my stance isnt as wide.
i have the same, pain issues with barbell split squats, so ill be ditching that for a while too.
was considering getting a resistance band already, so heres the perfect time.
thanks again.0
